The Sarasota Pet Project

Sarasota Pet is proud to launch The Sarasota Pet Project, a crowdfunding platform exclusively for pet owners, businesses and non-profit organizations in Sarasota and Manatee counties, as well as for businesses that are part of Sarasota Pet’s family of advertisers.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of crowdfunding, it is best described by Wikipedia as a “collective effort of individuals locally, regionally, nationally and internationally who network and pool their money, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other individuals or organizations.”

Still confused about how crowdfunding works?

It’s really quite simple. Individuals or organizations with a financial need post a project on a crowdfunding platform simply by providing a description of what their needs are, setting a fund-raising goal and a deadline and including a couple of photographs, a business logo and/or a video that visually support the project.

Then, the magic begins! People anywhere in the world can make donations—from $5 to $500—to support the project.

What makes this different from other crowdfunding platforms?

The Sarasota Pet Project is the only local crowdfunding platform that is exclusively created to meet the financial needs of pet businesses and owners here in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Suppose an animal has not been pulled from a shelter because it has a serious—yet curable—medical condition that requires additional funding, and an animal group cannot afford the additional expense.

Perhaps a local clinic needs new medical equipment that will help improve the diagnosis or treatment of animal.

What if a shelter needs new beds for the animals in its care but is short on funds?

Or maybe a local family has a beloved pet that requires medical treatment or surgery that the family simply cannot afford.

It’s time to turn problems like these into fund-raising projects! Simply take the initiative by posting the financial need here at The Sarasota Pet Project, along with a description of the how the funds will be used. Once the project is posted online, animal lovers from our local pet community can contribute $5 or more to help fund the project.

Within the past several years, crowdfunding campaigns have raised millions of dollars, financing projects around the world. Kickstarter, one of the global leaders in crowdfunding, has received pledges in excess of $565 million from 38 million supporters since it was first launched in 2009!

As successful as many of these crowdfunding platforms have been, there is one major drawback to many of them. If, for example, your goal is to raise $20,000.00 and you receive pledges of $19,999.99, you will not receive one single cent of the money that was pledged to your fund-raising campaign!

Now, that’s just not fair.

The Sarasota Pet Project plans to change that.

Unlike other crowdfunding sites, this is NOT an “all-or-nothing” platform. If your goal is to raise $500 and you only receive $350 in donations, you will receive the $350 that was donated to support your cause. And, if monies raised exceed your goal, you will receive all of the money that has been donated!

Locally, there are several fund-raising efforts that are available to help individuals, businesses and organizations in the pet community, and we all should be grateful for the monies that they have helped raise for those in need. However, there has not been a local crowdfunding platform that exclusively raises funds for the pet community here in Sarasota and Manatee counties…

…Until now.

With the launch of The Sarasota Pet Project, individual pet owners, local pet business owners and animal groups here in Sarasota and Manatee counties have a brand new resource to fund special needs that will save animals or help grow their businesses or organizations.

Initiating a fund-raising campaign couldn’t be easier…just fill out the form below and click on “Submit.” All projects will be posted on the “Fund It!” page here on SarasotaPet.com.

To increase the community appeal of your fund-raising campaign, you can include up to three photographs and/or a video. Local pet businesses also can include their logos. Use the form at the bottom of this page to submit the images you would like to include with your project.

Proof of residency or employment in Sarasota or Manatee county also can be e-mailed to sarasotapet@aol.com or faxed to Sarasota Pet at 941-405-4468. This step is only necessary for individual pet owners creating fund-raising projects.

Once a project has been posted, we need to get the word out! Projects can be shared on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites from the “Fund It!” page. The success of each campaign will depend on the outreach that we, as a community, can achieve by sharing the project details with our friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues.

What does it cost to create a fund-raising campaign? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. This new crowdfunding platform is just one of the many community services provided by Sarasota Pet.

In order to cover Paypal processing fees and a minimal administrative fee, all applicants are asked to increase their fund-raising goal by 10 percent. If, for example, your goal is to raise $500, please add an additional 10 percent, or $50, to your goal so that all fees can be covered.

All applicants also must set a deadline date for their fund-raising campaigns. If your deadline is set one month from the date your project is posted, you will receive funds once the deadline is reached. If you set a two-, three-, four- five- or six-month deadline, you will receive a check for all monies raised at the end of each month.

The start up of The Sarasota Pet Project has been made possible by the generosity of our sponsors, who are listed at left, and we are so very grateful for their support and contributions. If you are interested in sponsoring The Sarasota Pet Project, please send an e-mail to sarasotapet@aol.com.

Market experts report that the crowdfunding industry “is on fire,” and , and as a whole, is expected to raise $5.1 billion in 2013. It is a concept that works…and one that can work right here in our local animal community.

Your support will make The Sarasota Pet Project successful and together, we can make a difference!

Submit your fund-raising project below!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Phone Number(required)

What are you seeking funding for?(required)

What would be an appropriate title for your funding project?

How much money are you hoping to raise? (Please add 10% to your goal to cover Paypal processing fees and a minimal administrative fee.)(required)

Please provide a short description of your project and why you need the funds

You can include either a video or photos in your project listing. Please check off below what you can provide. Photographs

Video

Photographs and Video

Submit your photos, logo and/or video by filling out the form below.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You must click the “SUBMIT” button above to send in the project information before filling out the form below. There is a separate “SUBMIT” button in the contact form below to submit one photograph or video. If you would like to submit additional photos, your logo or a video, e-mail them directly to sarasotapet@aol.com.

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